Reboot
by Casual-Tuesdays
Summary: The original Smashers are all that is left. Everyone else has disappeared, a new threat is at large, and they have no plan. All it takes is a little faith and a whole lot of adventure, right? (Rated T for language, and the only considerable OC would be Pikachu, based on my portrayal of the character)
1. Chapter 1

First story! Hopefully someone out there will like it and be willing to stick around for things to pick up. This first chapter is kinda slow, so bear with me s'il vous plait. Happy reading!

I don't own Super Smash Brothers. That would pretty be rad though.

* * *

Mario jumped up, performing a tight backflip as a bomb-omb went whizzing below him, exploding a few seconds after he landed. He whipped his head around, eyeing the thrower of the explosive with amusement. Sonic grinned at him, bouncing a baseball bat off his red sneaker.

"Close call, Pasta-Man," Sonic teased, wiggling his eyebrows up and down. Mario rolled his eyes before throwing a couple fireballs in the smug hedgehog's direction. The blue blur rolled out of the way and continued to roll into a spin dash.

"That's a wonderfully stereotypical statement you got there Sonic. Not every Italian has to be associated with pasta."

The hedgehog stuck his feet out in front of him, screeching to a stop, pouting and placing his gloved hands on his hips.

"Are you implying that you don't like pasta?"

Mario tripped over his own feet and flopped onto the platform of the Battlefield.

He narrowed his eyes at Sonic, snorting, "Of course not. What the heck gave you that idea?"

Sonic puffed his cheeks out, and Mario took note of the slightly pink tint on the blue blur's cheeks and the way he scratched his nose- a notable trait of Sonic's whenever he gets nervous or flustered.

"Well, I mean," Sonic began, tumbling over his words. "It's just you sounded super offended and crud when I called you Pasta-Man." He rubbed the back of his head nervously, hoping to not upset the plumber.

Mario rolled his eyes again, opening his mouth to argue back when a loud, authoritative voice boomed throughout the stage.

"Mario and Sonic, if you two desire to gossip then I am going to end your match because there are other fighters who reserved the fighting simulator."

Sonic chuckled to himself, before grinning at Mario again. "Master Hand was never the most patient glove around, huh?"

The room flashed white, blinding the Italian before he could respond. When his eyes fluttered open, he registered that they were back in transporter room, Sonic standing in front of him with a matching dazed expression.

Sonic shook his head, lifting his hands to his face to rub his eyes. "It doesn't matter how many times we do that- I'll never get used to the transportation."

Master Hand floated over to the two fighters, flicking Sonic on the back of the head, resulting in a whiney 'hey!' from the hedgehog. "You also seem to never get used to the fact that I can hear you over the intercom when you are in the arena," Master Hand says, sniffing indignantly. "If you desire to finish your match, reserve one of the less popular arenas tomorrow."

The white glove turned around, pressing a black button on the control panel.

"Mr. Game and Watch, Peach- the Battlefield stage is now open for your match. Report to the scanner room." Master Hand releases the button, facing Mario and Sonic once again. "Why is it that two of our most talented fighters are two of the most easily distracted ones as well?" he mumbles, sounding as he was saying it more to himself than the fighters in question.

Mario raised his hand, prepared to spit out a defending statement when Sonic's voice cut through whatever sound elicited from Mario's mouth.

Apparently running wasn't the only thing that he was fast at.

Damn that hedgehog.

"Well geez Master Hand, if we are oh-so talented as you say," Sonic waved his hands around, in a way that Mario assumed was meant to prove his point better, but in the plumber's eyes, he just looked ridiculous. "Why is it such an issue if we get a little distracted?"

Master Hand let out a tired sigh. "Because you delay the other smashers' matches, we have been over this Sonic. Multiple times actually."

The sound of a door sliding and shutting attracted the attention of the group, and they looked over to see Princess Peach walking in, pulling on her long white gloves. Her bright blue eyes blinked in surprise as she scanned the room.

"Oh," she breathed out, 'Mr. Game and Watch has not arrived yet?"

Mario and Sonic shook their heads, but then Sonic's eyes widened and he let out a slight gasp. "You know what? I actually haven't seen him around all day really," he finished with a shrug, looking over at the master of the household.

Master Hand hummed in curiosity, turning to the intercom once again. "Mr. Game and Watch, it is time for your match with Princess Peach. Please report to the transportation room immediately. If anyone has seen him, please notify him at once." He faced the three fighters, sighing before beginning to speak again. "Well, my apologies Princess Peach, but until your opponent arrives, you are going to have to wait."

The Princess smiled back him, and shook her head. "No need to apologize, Master Hand. I don't mind waiting at all," she spoke, looking over at Mario. The plumber perked up when he noticed her attention on him.

"Would you mind keeping me company while I wait?"

"Oh! Uh, of course not Princess," he spoke quickly and rubbed his neck in embarrassment, feeling his neck heat up. Sonic shifted his gaze back and forth between the two Mushroom Kingdom inhabitants, before finally shrugging his shoulders and jogging out of the room.


	2. Chapter 2

(A/N) Alright, so I decided to go ahead and try getting another chapter out there because why not? I honestly have no idea how long it's going to be before things really get started. I'm thinking this might be a decently long story, which should be fine since school is nearing the end for me, which will allow more time.

Also, for the sake of the story I have in mind, yes there will be a human version of one of the characters. I'm going to try to limit this as much as possible so again, bear with me.

Finally, thank you to those who reviewed! It made me feel **tons** better to hear all of the nice things people had to say about this(:

Anyway, here we go!

* * *

"I don't get it. Where would Mr. Game & Watch disappear to?"

Fox's eyes flickered up to the avian pilot positioned across the table from him. Falco's voice barely held any concern since Mr. Game and Watch wasn't a close companion of either fighter, yet his eyes displayed a different emotion. Ever since the 2-D man went missing a few days prior, the mansion had quickly fallen apart.

Master Hand insisted on continuing matches while conducting a search with hope of finding the missing fighter, something the vulpine was unsure if he agreed with or not. Not like there was much he could do anyway since he wasn't in charge...

"I'm sure he'll turn up," Fox mumbled through his food, refusing to look at his companion since that was a statement he did not completely have faith in himself. "Master Hand doesn't take these kinds of things very lightly, you know?"

Falco leaned back in his chair and grunted, unsatisfied. " _Right._ Because making the rest of us keep on fighting and pretending that everything is normal is definitely not taking it lightly."

"Falco," Fox began, "He probably doesn't want anyone to freak out. Stopping all the matches and demanding that everyone pitch into a big search for one person has the chance of making people freak out."

"You sure seem calm about this."

Fox shrugged his shoulders. "I just don't think we need to be panicking over something that we aren't totally sure about. He might turn up later today, or even tomorrow. We don't know anything really."

"Yeah. You're way too calm about this."

Fox said nothing as he stood up and pushed his chair in with the heel of his boot, the chair squeaking unpleasantly against the wood flooring. He made his way out of the dining hall, running his hands through the tuft of fur on his forehead.

He cared. It's not that he didn't care about one of his fellow smashers vanishing into thin air. When his father James McCloud vanished a few years back, Fox felt his entire world crumble around him. It didn't seem to matter that he still had Peppy, who basically became his surrogate father, or Slippy and Falco, who were brothers to him. His father was the only blood relative he had left, and then he was gone. Snatched away from him. It had just gotten to the point where Fox had conditioned himself to not panic, to stay calm and collected.

He couldn't freak out.

* * *

Electricity flowed throughout the room, littered with computers and various other types of technology. Pikachu felt it. She felt it tickling her cheeks and making her fur stand up, a sensation she had learned to get used to and accept. She closed her eyes and analyzed the feeling, guessing at the differing amounts of voltage coursing through her veins. Being a Pokémon had its advantages, no doubt. Pikachu accepted that and used it to her advantage. The power to control electricity was more of a blessing than a curse she deduced.

The sound of a drill snapped Pikachu back into the present. She looked over to see Snake leaning over the work bench, focused on the task in front of him. A robot moved about the room, gathering tools and placing them on the table in front of the man at work. Snake sat up for a moment, taking the cigarette out of his mouth and exhaling, a grey cloud of smoke floating around his head.

"Almost done," he said, lifting up a bracelet and holding it in front of the light. The silver band wasn't much to look at, but the rainbow shaded gem in the center caught the eye of the mouse. The corners of her lips twitched upwards, and her mouth fell back into a flat line when Snake placed bracelet back onto the table.

R.O.B looked at her before returning its attention to the man working.

Snake grinned and turned his chair to face the two other smashers who were present in the room. "Pikachu, it's finished. You should be able to change into your human form twice as fast now." He handed the bracelet to the mouse, who squealed in delight and placed it on her wrist.

Pikachu's eyes lit up, her small paws stroking the gem encased in the middle. She lifted her head and smiled at the man who worked hours for her. "Thanks so much for this Snake. I'll take good care of it."

"Would hope so, mouse. It wasn't easy fixing that thing. Maybe you should consider taking the bracelet off before you run around fighting the others. One malfunction and you could end up stuck in one form permanently."

Pikachu pursed her lips at Snake before returning her attention back to the bracelet. She stood up, flexing her tail, before pressing down on the gem. A light encased her body and when it faded, Snake found himself looking at a petite blonde female with ears and a tail identical to the ones Pikachu had a few seconds prior. Pikachu grinned as she inspected her body, tossing her long blonde ponytail over her shoulder.

"Perfect."

* * *

"Master Hand. Don't you believe it is time to stop the matches? No one has seen King Dedede nor Toon Link all day now. The smashers are beginning to get worried," Zelda commented, crossing her arms over her chest. She stared the floating hand down, and swore that if he had a face, it would probably be a mixture of nervousness and a failing attempt to remain calm.

She jumped slightly when his hand balled into a fist and slammed down on the desk in his office, the sound causing the room to shake. "Absolutely not!" He yelled. Master Hand pointed a finger at the princess and she in return raised an eyebrow at him. "We have a reputation to keep up here. We, under no circumstance, can cancel the matches until this _issue_ truly begins to threaten the Smash Mansion."

" _Threaten?!_ " Zelda screeched out. "You are going to sit here and wait for everyone to disappear before you take action? There will be no reputation left for you to uphold if all of the residents you have staying here are gone!"

"Princess Zelda, I understand fully well your concern about what has been occurring the past week. Regardless, there have been only three fighters go missing, and I have in fact been undergoing an investigation. Focus on what you are here for, and allow me to focus on my business."

"But-" she began, before Master Hand's booming voice overtook her own.

"Enough! I am going to have to ask you to leave now. I am very busy."

Zelda said nothing else, turning on her heel and slamming the door behind her, causing the picture frames hung around the office to shake and become crooked. Master Hand stayed unmoving for a minute, eventually floated down into his chair defeated, and heaving out a fatigued sigh.

"What are we going to do?"


	3. Chapter 3

(A/N) Attempted to crank out another chapter within a day. I had to write a poem for my creative writing class and it is one hot mess, let me tell yah.

Regardless, here we go. This is a pretty Legend of Zelda heavy chapter, those characters being the main ones to be interacting and focused on. It was kinda tough since I've never played a LOZ game before, so I was relying a lot on Wikipedia and my own judgment on how the characters would act and whatnot. Please let me know how I did!

Happy reading!

* * *

"King Dedede, Toon Link, Mr. Game & Watch, Duck Hunt… and now the Ice Climbers and Robin are missing too?" Zelda threw her arms down at her side in an irritated manner and pressed the list to her mouth to muffle her scream. "What has Master Hand been doing the past three days? Taking a vacation?"

Link sent a sorry look to the Hyrulian princess, who returned it with a defeated one and slumped back down into the chair across from him. "Sooner or later, we might be able to publish a book with a list of everyone who has mysteriously disappeared within the past week…" she muttered, running her hands through her hair.

Ike walked up to the table the two were occupying, and threw down an exposed sword. It landed with a clang and the metal reflected the light, showing it had recently been cleaned. "Might as well add Marth to the list. No one had seen him since late afternoon yesterday."

Link raised an eyebrow. "We're just going to start assuming that if people haven't been seen for a couple of hours that they've vanished into thin air?"

"You have a better explanation?" Ike snapped, his eyes then softening realizing his harsh tone. "I'm sorry. I'm just worried."

Zelda snagged the list off the table and stood up, pushing her chair in. "Don't feel the need to apologize. We are all concerned." Zelda shot a look at Link, his ears turning a light pink. "It's, while unfortunate, better to assume those who are not present have in fact joined those gone. And we will add them to the list." She waved the paper for emphasis and pivoted, striding off towards the exit out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Link called after her.

Zelda didn't bother turning back towards the two swordsmen. "I'm going to have another discussion with Master Hand."

* * *

A gloved hand slammed down onto Master Hand's desk, a sheet of paper lying below it. If he had eyebrows, Master Hand would most definitely have them propped up in the raised position right now.

"What is it now Zelda?" He sighed, the fatigue dripping heavily from his voice like a leak in the ceiling.

Zelda scowled at him, and looked down at the paper before looking back up at him. He made no move to pick up the sheet, causing her frown to deepen.

"Are you just planning to hide away in your office every day and sit there, denying the fact that we have a major issue on our hands, something that is most definitely going to develop into a tragedy unless _you_ do something about it?"

The floating hand let out another sigh, and reached down to flip the sheet over. The room grew silent, and Zelda, annoyed with the stillness, began to tap her foot on the floor at a rapid pace. Master Hand floated slightly upwards, a gesture she had acknowledged as the equivalent of someone with a head looking up.

"It's an updated list of-"

"I figured that much out, thank you Princess Zelda," he sneered. "I already told you that I'm working on it."

"Master Hand!" Zelda threw her arms above her head, eyes widened to the point that it seemed they would pop out of her skull. "If you were doing much of anything, people wouldn't be stressed out to the point of questioning whether or not they are going to be the next to go!"

The hand said nothing back, grabbing the list and crumpling it between his large fingers. Zelda took that as her cue to leave, stomping out of the open doorway for the second time that week.

* * *

Link walked into the dining hall the next morning and stood for a moment, surveying the scene in front of him. His gaze jumped from table to table, taking note of the amount of bodies present, how many seats were vacant, and who exactly was vacant from those very seats. His eyes traveled from left to right before snapping back to the left like a typewriter, prepared to scan once more. Everything around him faded into the background, the noise and sights blurring so much that he didn't notice the shorter man next to him, poking him in the abdomen with a boxing glove.

"You alright man?" Little Mac questioned, brow furrowed. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Link said nothing as his eyes settled on one particular spot.

"What time is it?"

"What?"

"The time," Link repeated. "What time is it?"

The boxer glanced down at his watch before looking back up at the green-clad swordsman. "9:22."

"Everyone should be here," Link breathed out. "Breakfast is served at 9. Someone's missing."

Little Mac blinked in surprise before peering around at the room himself. "Where?"

Link lifted his arm, pointing at a table occupied by the Pokémon Trainer, his two smaller Pokémon, Charizard, and Lucario.

"Greninja isn't there."

The shorter man looked at the spot and hummed in agreement. "You're right. You think he's gone too?"

"I don't know." Link continued to inspect the room, halting when he noticed a large man hunched over the table, shoveling food into his mouth. Link bit down on his tongue to prevent himself from yelling across the room and causing a scene immediately, and began to walk in the direction his eyes were focused on. "I'm going to take a guess on someone who I think might."

Ganondorf dropped the fork onto his plate and lifted his coffee, taking a long sip from the mug, and sighed in content. His expression fell when he noticed the warrior walking up to his table, blue eyes frozen over.

"Link. And to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"People have been going missing Ganondorf. And I want to know every single detail of what you know about this," Link pointed a finger accusingly at the Gerudo. Ganondorf gasped at Link, raising a hand to his chest in mock-offense.

"Well Link, I am a changed man, haven't you noticed?" The Dark Lord's voice was laced with sarcasm, and Link noticed. He clenched his fists at the tall man who stood, picking up his dishes. "I know nothing you scoundrel. If I wanted to eliminate anyone here, don't you think I would have already?"

Link crossed his arms over his chest, refusing to step aside. "I don't know Ganondorf. Several of our fighters are gone. Don't you think that might possibly match the description of a plan for eliminating everyone else?"

Ganondorf let out a low laugh, throwing his head back. He reached up rubbed his eyes pretending to wipe away a tear. "That's a hysterical accusation. Link, I promise you I will get rid of you one day. But not while enjoying our stay here at the famous Smash Mansion. I may be a ruthless crime lord, but I am still respectful. Besides, I still enjoy the expressions I manage to sculpt onto your pathetic face after defeating you in combat." He laughed one more as he strode away, leaving Link in a stunned silence. Little Mac jogged up to Link's side, his head facing the direction the Gerudo had exited in.

"Surprise, surprise. He's innocent."

Link grunted pushed his blonde locks out of his eyes.

"Something isn't adding up."

* * *

(A/N) Ewwww. Not the best thing I've ever written. My fault for choosing to write when I didn't have much motivation and info to do so. Whatever man- just wanna get this plot moving along.


	4. Chapter 4

(A/N) The things I'm choosing to do instead of my Anatomy paper due this Friday. Whatever man.

Happy reading as always!

* * *

Lucas let out a groan, turning over on his mattress so he was positioned on his back. He stared up at the wood board holding his roommate's mattress, tracing the patterns of the wood with his eyes. The room was dead silent and dark. The boy craned his neck to look over at his clock, the illuminated screen displaying 2:34 AM. Lucas groaned again and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hands, throwing the bed sheets of him. Placing his feet on the ground, he applied light pressure to avoid making the floorboards squeak and possibly waking up his slumbering friend. A sudden snore made the blonde jump, and he stood still to see if it continued. Lucas looked up at the top of the bunk bed and heaved a sigh of relief when he realized that Ness was still asleep and likely in the middle of a dream.

He returned to the matter at hand when declaring it was safe to make the slightest amounts of noise once more- Lucas had narrowed down his current situations to a few points.

One- he could not sleep.

Two- it was incredibly early in the morning. Or late, depending on how you perceive it.

And thirdly- he was hungry.

Very hungry.

Lucas cautiously made his way over to the door of the room, twisting the doorknob gently and slowly as though he feared that with anymore force that it would snap off and he would be trapped in the room forever.

What a travesty that would be.

Especially with how hungry he is at the moment.

He pulled the door shut behind him with a satisfying click and turned to head down the corridor leading to the kitchen. The entirety of the Smash Mansion was mute, which was usually a rare occurrence, when it isn't past 2 in the morning. The hallway Lucas walked down was dimly lit, the lights dangling from the walls placed on the lowest setting available so the light wouldn't disturb the sleeping residents.

A few minutes past although it felt like a mere thirty seconds to the boy given that he had the directions to the kitchen burned into the back of his mind. The first few nights that he had woken up and desired something to snack on, Lucas found himself grabbing a flashlight or even dragging Ness out of bed to go with him since he was so terrified of walking through the gigantic manor solo.

Now it was simple.

Lucas surveyed the kitchen, freshly cleaned with neatly stacked dishes and silverware left out on the counter for the chef in the morning to set out for all of the famished fighters. The scent of lemon tickled Lucas nose, making him sneeze reflexively and instantly cover his nose and mouth afterwards due to the loud noise he produced. Another scent wafted over to his nasal cavity, this one more warm and inviting, and not as offensive as the citrus fruit.

Chocolate chip cookies.

Freshly baked ones too. Perfect.

The boy spotted the plate sitting on the table, uncovered and alone with nothing around it. As he sauntered up, he saw how they were untouched, most likely being left out by Princess Peach for a meal to be eaten later today. Lucas picked one up, crumbs rolling off of its surface and falling to the ground below, soon forgotten.

"Peach wouldn't mind if I ate just one." He spoke aloud to himself, acting as a push for taking the treat that teased him mercilessly. Besides, it's not like the princess counted the cookies before putting them out for the night.

Okay, so she did but he doesn't know that.

Lucas made his way back out into the empty corridor and began the trek to return to bed, munching softly on the cookie and rubbing the crumbs away from his mouth. He was about to make a left turn when a chill worked its way up his spine, making his hair stand on end. An unmistakable sensation of dread settled in his stomach, similar to the kind of feeling he experienced when he had learned of his brother being turned into a dangerous force of evil a year back.

This sensation wasn't as strong as the one felt back then, but it was still present nonetheless. And awful.

Lucas peered over his shoulder, his entire body trembling and he let out a gasp when he noticed what was behind him.

A large, unrecognizable creature was taking up the middle of the hallway. Its body was large and dark like the night sky, although Lucas thought it seemed to be even darker than that. A horrifying black shade, reminding Lucas of dark caves with no light or chasms that seemed to have no bottom. The monster appeared to have no eyes, but a large mouth coupled with sharp dagger-like teeth and a long tongue. Its body was that like a lion, but much larger in mass. On what could be assumed to be its hands and feet were claws, but could practically be considered knifes, digging into the rug below it and splitting the seams. What terrified Lucas the most was what its body consisted of. It lacked a solid form, but rather looked as though it was composed of particles or dark matter.

The beast released a roar, raising one of its claws and slashing down at Lucas. The younger boy jumped out of the way and listened to the sound of carpet being torn. He quickly stood and turned to run down the hallway, unable to hear the beast's pursuit behind him due to the sound of his heart beat vibrating in his ears.

"Help! Someone!" The boy sobbed, refusing to steal a peek over his shoulder to see whether or not the monster was actually opting to give chase or not. The psychic was unable to produce any logical thoughts except for the prayers that maybe this was all a bad dream and he would wake up any moment to Ness shaking him.

Except this was no nightmare.

This was real life.

Suddenly, Lucas felt a cold sensation erupt in his chest and spread throughout the rest of his body. He let out a strangled scream, his cries fading away to silence. He fell to the ground motionless, eyes stuck open and wide but staring at nothing.

The beast crawled over and stood above the frozen body, dark particles separating from its body and surrounding the boy below. Another roar was released and then both the beast and Lucas were gone.

* * *

Ness' eyes fluttered open lazily and he yawned. Sitting up, he dangled his legs over the side of the bunk bed and raised both arms above his head stretching. He snatched his baseball cap from where it was left at the foot of the bed, and placed it on his head, turning it to the side slightly.

"'Good morning Lucas," Ness called out, floating gently to the ground. After a few moments of silence passed, Ness whirled around to face the other bed. "Lucas?"

He blinked several times in confusion at seeing the unoccupied bed, clearly missing a body under the sheets. He took note of the state of Lucas' area- the sheets were bundled up and tossed to the side, a sign that at some point the younger boy had gotten up and had yet to return. Ness knew this because of how notorious the blonde was for desiring a clean living arrangement. The first thing he would do every morning when we woke up, before getting cleaned up for the day or leaving for breakfast, was making his bed.

"Lucas?" Ness repeated, searching frantically around the room for another sign on where the other boy might have gone off to.

Ness let out a shaky breath and grabbed his clothes that were lying on the ground of the room from getting knocked off the bed at some point in the middle of the night. He had no idea where Lucas had gone.

He did know that something terrible must have happened.

* * *

(A/N) Wellll, there you have it! My slight attempt at trying to get more action up in this joint. Although it wasn't really much.

Poor Lucas. I chose to use him for this chapter because he happened to be who I mained back in the days of Brawl, and he was freaking sick. Plus I really do love the whole Mother franchise and thought his story in Mother 3 was beautifully tragic. Tugged at the ol' heart strings.

But yeah. So now we have a better idea of who might be behind the disappearances after all!

Hope y'all enjoyed it!


	5. Chapter 5

(A/N) I started this chapter a few days ago, but I was really stuck on how to get to the point I wanted to get to by now. Blah.

School's done in about 2 weeks or so, so hopefully that'll bring more updates. I also wrote this at 2 in the morning, so please bear with me if there are silly little mistakes.

Happy reading!

* * *

The next few days were chaos.

With the disappearance of Lucas, marking now the tenth missing Smasher, Master Hand finally surrendered and put a hold on all of the matches. The paranoia spread around the manor like a contagious disease, affecting a mass majority of the residents.

Trust was also becoming a rarity. Some of the smashers had a difficult time holding conversations with those who they didn't know as well, or those who they had previous conflict with. Link refused to let Ganondorf out of his sight, still under the assumption that he was associated with the disappearances. Luigi barely left his room anymore due to the fear consuming him that he could get taken next. Even Princess Peach, easily the most sociable out of everyone there, was rarely talking to anyone outside of the Mushroom Kingdom natives or the glove himself.

"No. For the final time, all practice stages are offline."

Ike let out an annoyed gruff. "So you expect us to sit around and wait to get picked off rather than hone our abilities?" Master Hand groaned in response.

"Sometimes I really don't understand you smashers. One minute you're demanding I do something. And then as soon as I do, you're dissatisfied."

Ike crossed his thick arms, furrowing his brows. "I refuse to be a target."

Master Hand made a shooing gesture towards the door leading out of his office. "Then go work on some targets in the practice room."

The swordsman stood, staring at the back of the hand, pretending to burn holes through the being with his gaze. "You're still here?" The glove's voice brought Ike back to reality, earning another grunt and the slamming of a closed door.

* * *

Mario looked around the lounge, scanning for a slightly taller Italian clad in green. He let out a small sigh when he realized that Luigi was likely still in his room given that the man Mario hoped to see was absent from the room where a large portion of the rest of the mansion was currently gathered. The faces around the room varied between several expressions; paled complexions and distant eyes attributed to anxiety, or the slightly puffed out cheeks and dilated pupils reflecting the frustration of being sitting ducks. A low murmur echoed throughout the lounge, but instantly dissipated when the door shut behind the short plumber. Mario gulped when he noticed all eyes on him as he walked slowly over to the couch occupied by the blonde princess and green dinosaur.

"Hello Princess. Yoshi."

Princess Peach flinched slightly and looked at Mario, giving him a soft smile. "Is Luigi okay?" Mario pursed his lips, shaking his head in response. Peach nodded, looking back straight ahead and Yoshi hummed in disappointment, obviously missing the comfort of the green plumber. "Well hopefully he'll find the confidence to come out soon."

"Hopefully," Mario mused, rubbing his nose. His eyes flickered over to the window Peach was staring out, dark clouds floating across the sky. Amazing how the weather can reflect the deterioration of hope. Mario began to open his mouth to speak again when movement out of his peripheral vision caused his lips to close in a tight line. Samus walked up to the group of Mushroom Kingdom residents, and leaned on one leg with her hand resting on her hip.

"Did you hear that Master Hand is considering sending us all home?" She locked eyes with Mario, prodding an answer out of him without having to say anything. The shorter man nodded in response.

"I think it might be the best thing to do." He then sighed, taking his cap off and running his hands though his unruly hair. "As much as I hate to admit it, it's become too dangerous to be here. We don't know what we're dealing with.

The silent Yoshi whirled around in his seat, eyes wide with panic. "But separating and going home to be _alone_ is a better idea?" His voice wavered, his comment escaping as nothing more than a whimper. The humans involved in the conversation exchanged glances, turning back to the dinosaur who seemed to be fascinated with the wood panel flooring below his boots.

The silence grew heavy, pushing down on their shoulders until Peach stood up and brushed her dress off. "Understand that it must be a difficult situation for Master Hand to assess and come up with a reasonable solution. It's likely for the best to leave the manor as soon as possible."

They had no idea how true that statement would prove to be.

* * *

Pikachu placed the brush down on the dresser in front of her and analyzed her appearance, turning from side to side, matting down her hair and eventually puffing out her cheeks. The process of getting used to a human body once again was surprisingly tiring. It made her appreciate getting to be both a Pikachu and as close as possible to human as she was before the fateful morning of waking up in the body of a Pokémon.

The loud, drumming sound of footsteps drew her attention away from the mirror, and she glanced at the door. A few moments passed of nothing. Pikachu blinked, checking her clock to see that it was 8:47 PM. Another set of footsteps pounded outside her room, and the girl found herself slowly making her way towards the door. Her ears twitched picking up the noise from the other side of the wall, barely making out what sounded like people frantically running about. Pikachu jumped when a loud crash followed by swearing sounded from the hallway. She whipped the door open, breaking out into a sprint down towards the source of the racket.

A shriek escaped her when she locked eyes with what was likely the reason behind all of the noise. The large beast let out a strangled roar when sword connected with one of its back legs. Pikachu noticed Lucina, blood trickling down her face and dripping onto the front of her shirt, holding her sword in front of her. The beast turned facing the sword wielder who backed up a few steps, making Pikachu notice that she wasn't alone. Princess Peach stood behind her, pressed up against the wall, her cheeks wet with tears.

"You will not lay a finger on the princess! You will have to go through me first!" Lucina yelled, swinging at the monster again. The thing jumped back, releasing another roar when Ganondorf appeared out of nowhere, launching a purple-tinted punch into the back of the beast. The Gerudo stood for a moment, and then turned to face the Pokémon who was frozen in fear.

"Pikachu!" He called out. Pikachu blinked, looking over at the tall man. "Go get help!"

Pikachu gaped. "I can help Ganondorf! It'll take too much time!"

"No!" He countered, charging up another powered fist when the beast jerked, preparing to pounce. "Run!" He then unleashed a second punch, throwing his entire body into it. The monster jumped out of the way, causing Ganondorf to collide with the wall instead. The man hissed, attempting to pull his arm back, just to realize it was stuck. Pikachu began to run towards him to assist him with dislodging his arm when he shouted at her again.

"Leave now!"

Before she could argue, two screams filled the hallway. The Gerudo and blonde girl froze, seeing Lucina and Princess Peach's bodies lie limp on the floor, dark particles beginning to swarm around them. Ganondorf gritted his teeth, facing Pikachu again.

"You better get your ass out of here before you end up like them!"

"Bu-but what about you?"

The man gave her a forced smile. "I'll survive."

The black-bodied creature tackled the man, tearing his arm away from the wall. Pikachu saw nothing more as she turned, running as fast as her legs could carry her. Her ears twitched involuntarily, picking up on the vibrations resonating from the monster giving chase. Pikachu tried to yell for help, but the cry got caught in her throat, resulting in a burning and choking sensation instead. She lifted her arm in front of her, pressing down on the gem in the center of the bracelet.

A light shone from the jewel, and she shut her eyes briefly before opening them again. Pikachu gasped as she inspected herself. "Why now of all times for this thing to stop working…."

Pikachu stole a peek over her shoulder to see the beast striding towards her in a predatory manner. The girl lifted her hand, an electric shock bursting from her glove wildly. Pikachu shielded her eyes from the blinding light, lowering her arm when she heard another roar signifying pain. The thing shook its large head, a low growl coming from it as it launched itself forward at her. Pikachu froze to her spot when she took note of the numb sensation in her legs, making her planted in the very spot she stood. She squeezed her eyes shut, and prepared herself for the pain to come.

Pikachu let out a yelp of surprise when something rammed into her side, knocking the air out of her. The force that sent her flying was another person as Pikachu felt herself tumble with the other individual, and eventually ended up on her back with the person positioned above her.

"You have a death wish or something?" Pikachu eyes snapped open, locking onto the eyes belonging to Fox McCloud. He wore a smirk, earning a scowl from her.

"Thanks for the rescue, oh-great-one." Fox chuckled at her sarcasm, getting up into a squatting position while Pikachu propped herself up onto her elbows. "We still have that friendly beast over there to deal with."

Fox frowned, reaching into the holster holding his gun. In the matter of three seconds, he pulled out his gun and shot several times, the beast roaring out in discomfort. "Take this free time and get out of here."

The sight of Lucina and Peach falling lifeless, and Ganondorf sacrificing himself flashed across Pikachu's mind. She bit her lip, looking around Fox to see the predator lifting itself off the ground. Its claws flashed and reflected the dim light, bewitching the Pokémon in an unsettling way. "I'm not leaving you here alone."

"You'd be doing me a favor by saving yourself."

Pikachu's jaw dropped. "Are you an idiot? That thing took out three people in front of me and you think you stand a better chance?"

Fox waved his hand by his side briefly and held it up in front of him, a light blue shield appearing. The claw of the beast rebounded off of the reflector, sending it back a few feet. "I'd much rather have one of us survive than both of us end up dead."

"And I'd rather not be responsible for you being dead," Pikachu snarled.

Fox's hair stood on end when he saw a bright orb glisten in the mouth of the beast. He reached behind him, his hand settling blindly on the side of Pikachu, the girl letting out a weak 'hey!' "Get behind me."

"What?" She retorted.

"Get behind me. _Now._ "

Suddenly, a blinding beam was fired towards the two. Fox quickly repeated the same process from before, another shield popping up in front of him. A sound almost resembling glass being shattered echoed throughout the room, and the beam bounced off the reflector shield, striking the beast in the chest. It opened its mouth slightly, letting out deep grumble before tipping over to the side and falling to the ground with a loud thud.

Pikachu sighed shakily, pressing a hand to her forehead and wiping away the nervous sweat. She then felt something pull her away from the motionless body of the predator, gawking at her hand locked with the hand belonging to the vulpine dragging her down the demolished hallway. "Where are we going?!"

Fox didn't bother offering her look. "Anywhere but here."

* * *

(A/N) Sooooo there you have it. Pikachu gets saved by Fox- these two are honestly some of my favorite characters in the entire Smash franchise, and I will confess, I enjoy odd ships and I do in fact ship these two together. I think they could be similar in character based on what you decide you want Pikachu's background to be like. A lot of people go for the whole wild pokemon thing, but I'm a fan of the Mystery Dungeon backstory. So yes, Pikachu did happen to be a human at one point.

I say they could be similar because they both lead "rescue teams." Sorta. Give it a chance please, I love them too much.

Finally, if you want an idea of what Pikachu looks like as a human, take Yellow from the PokemonSpecial comics, and put her into Terra from Teen Titans clothing. Plus the ears, tail, and boom! Pikachu.

Hope you guys enjoyed! Please leave a review and tell me what you think!


	6. Chapter 6

(A/N) Finally didn't have homework for the first time in freaking forever, so I decided to try and put out a longer chapter. It's funny that writing lengthy stuff that surpasses like 1,500 words. It's **hard.** And I never realized it until now. Oh well.

Hopefully this will kinda make up for the lack of content. Happy reading(:

* * *

Kirby huffed loudly, ignoring the ache in his body begging him to stop, and continued to run down the destroyed hallway. Beads of sweat trickled down his face, one drop landing in his eye, making him squeeze it shut to try and sooth the burning sensation that erupted. Looking down the hallway, he noticed a large pile of debris from the collapsed ceiling above blocking the path. Kirby reached one of his stubby arms out to the side, a hammer materializing. He drew the hammer back and then swung it forward around his body, knocking the blockade out of his way.

Kirby slid to a stop, the hammer vanishing into thin air. Panting, he took a moment to turn and catch his breath, inhaling oxygen deeply into his lungs, and releasing it shakily.

Another person, whose body was a similar shape to Kirby's round physique, landed in front of him, its bat-like wings transforming into a cape, flowing elegantly onto the ground.

"Have you seen any of the other smashers yet?" Meta Knight questioned. Kirby shook his head in response.

"Not yet."

Meta Knight said nothing, running around Kirby and jumping up into a glide, his cape once again becoming a pair of wings. Kirby rolled his eyes at the swordsman who was becoming smaller each passing second as he flew away.

"Great talk about the plan, Meta Knight," Kirby grumbled, following the other Pop Star inhabitant.

When Kirby caught up to the swordsman, he was standing in silence, holding his sword in a tight fist. Kirby raised an eyebrow.

"Something bothering you about that wall paint?" Kirby joked. "Personally, I always thought that these walls should have been a more warm shade of-" Kirby halted in the middle of his sentence when Meta Knight shot him a dangerous glare.

"Quiet. One of them is close." Meta Knight pressed himself up against the wall, peeking around the corner.

"One of them as in one of those monsters, or as in one of us?"

Meta Knight paused, saying nothing to the pink puffball. His eyes then faded from their usual yellow tint to an emerald shade of green. "Perhaps both."

"So what should we do then?"

"Prepare to fight."

* * *

" - we really should keep moving."

Luigi's gaze rose from the forest floor up to the boy speaking in front of him. Ness had a soft smile on his face, his hat worn in its usual position, twisting off to the side. He bounced up and down with each step Yoshi took since he was riding the back of the dinosaur. The dinosaur in question remained uncharacteristically mute, leaving the only conversations to be had between the plumber and the boy themselves.

"I know Ness," Luigi began, his voice even smaller than it normally was. "I'm just worried about Mario." Luigi paused, glancing over his shoulder back down the forest path they were walking down. "Maybe I should go back and look for him."

"No!" Yoshi cried, causing Ness and Luigi to jump at the sudden outburst. The dinosaur's blue eyes were huge and wild, glistened over by what Luigi assumed to be tears threatening to pour over. Yoshi whimpered slightly. "You can't. _We can't._ "

"You want to leave Mario and possibly some of the others behind?" Luigi's voice rose, but wasn't loud enough to cause a disturbance in the woods. The plumber glowered at the green dinosaur and trembled faintly. "Do you not care what happens to them?"

Yoshi narrowed his eyes. "Of course I care!" His voice cracked. "I just- I can't risk it. It's not safe Luigi."

"Normally I'm the scared one."

"Well it's nice you're becoming brave all of the sudden, but maybe this isn't the time."

"What are you talking about?" Luigi shouted, his cheeks gaining a red tint from frustration. "This is exactly the time to be brave! We have to stand up and save the others!"

Yoshi took a step towards the plumber, Ness jumping off his back. "How can we save someone who we aren't sure isn't dead?"

"How could you say that?!"

"I watched it!" The dinosaur yelled, squeezing his eyes shut. His entire body shook like an earthquake resonated from his core. He opened his eyes again, allowing the tears to flow freely now. "I watched Diddy Kong fall to those monsters!"

Luigi froze, that single detail Yoshi revealed clouding his mind. _He's right. How can I assume that they are still alive? I didn't stick around long enough to see any of it. I ran._ Luigi frowned. "I know I can't assume anything at this point. But I can hope. I can hope that my brother is still alive and fighting."

Yoshi hiccupped, wiping his wet cheeks with his hands. His directed his attention to the ground as he felt his face heat up from the embarrassment of a break down in front of his friends. He felt a hand land on his shoulder.

"I promise to not go back, if you promise me to not give up hoping."

The dinosaur hiccupped again, more quietly this time, and nodded his head vigorously.

Luigi nodded back at him and walked around Yoshi, proceeding with their trek further into the forest. Ness looked back and forth between the two before extending his hand to the dinosaur with a small smile. Yoshi returned the smile, his hand covering the small boy's one, and the two jogged down after the plumber.

* * *

Mario's hand became encased in a bright red flame, and he launched himself into the air, bringing down his fist onto the back of the neck of a beast. It made a choking noise, falling to the ground with a thud. Mario jumped off of it, performing a quick back flip and landing cleanly on the floor. He breathed out heavily, wiping his gloves on his denim overalls.

Pit landed next to him, his fingers pulling back on his bow, an arrow ready to be fired. "Is it dead?"

His question was answered as the beast fell apart; it's body dividing into single black particles, fading away.

The angel returned to a relaxed stance, his arrow dissipating. "That would be a yes."

"Where are they all coming from though…?" Mario's voice carried off, and he cast the angel a concerned look. Pit merely shrugged in response.

Mario started a light jog, Pit gliding smoothly in the air next to him. "Who knows," Pit then chuckled. "We should stop calling them things and maybe label them. 'Things' is so overdone."

Mario grinned. "They almost look like lions, minus the manes and eyes, right?"

"Oh!" Pit cried out, doing a corkscrew in the air. "That's exactly what the look like!'

"Alright," Mario nodded, pumping his arms back and forth faster in order to catch up with his companion. "They are the lions now."

"It's a shame really," Pit mused. "Lions are such majestic creatures. But those things are definitely not majestic by any means. They are just as vicious though- maybe even more."

"Doesn't matter. They are a threat all the same."

"I know."

Mario and Pit rounded the corner, both skidding to a complete stop as a lion snarled at them, baring its dagger-like teeth. Mario powered up a fireball in his gloved hands, throwing them one after another towards the lion. The lion jumped up, briefly running across the wall before slashing its claws at the two smashers. Pit raised his shield, the force of the attack pushing him backwards a couple feet.

"Do we have a plan?" Pit cried out, looking to Mario for direction. The plumber bit his lip.

"Attack. That's all that matters right now."

Pit pulled back on the string of his bow, shooting an arrow. "You don't have to tell me twice."

Mario laughed out loud, although it came out more forced and sarcastic. "I sure would hope not."

Pit flapped his wings a few times, gaining altitude, before turning into a nose dive towards the beast. Pit swung his double swords, skimming the surface of the beast and swooped back upwards. The lion snapped its jaws at the angel, missing by a few feet. Mario threw another fireball at its legs. The fireball connected with its target, sizzling and crackling as it made impact. The lion hissed loudly, swiping irritated at Pit who maneuvered with ease through the air.

"Is it just me or is this getting easier?" Pit mocked, ducking his head as another paw swatted above him.

"Watch yourself, Pit," Mario warned. "We've fought a few of these things already. We know their moves by now. But that doesn't mean they don't have more in store for us."

Pit grinned as his sword made impact again, producing a deeper cut than before. "Don't you worry your pretty little head, plumber."

As soon as the words escaped his mouth, the lion fired a blinding energy beam from its mouth. The beam curved through the air, striking Pit on the back. The angel cried out, twisting erratically in the air, finally crashing to the floor.

"Pit!" Mario began to run towards his fallen comrade. The lion roared, swiping another clawed hand at Mario. The plumber gasped as the paw made contact, throwing him back towards the wall. Mario felt his back meet the bricked wall, his bones faintly cracking, the wind knocked out of his gut. The plumber collapsed on the ground, wheezing as he lifted his head to face the angel.

Pit laid on the floor on his stomach, his eyes shut in a relaxed fashion.

 _Shit._ Mario swore to himself when he noticed that the angel was unconscious.

The lion stood over the motionless boy, dark particles separating from its body and covering the boy. The particles melted into the flooring, and the spot where Pit laid a moment ago was now barren.

The lion turned to face Mario, who was struggling to stand. It began walking slowly towards him, in a taunting manner, like a predator about to capture its prey. Mario felt a lump form in his throat, a cold sweat encasing his body. The lion was about to lunge forward, but instead burst apart, its body fading away.

Mario relaxed slightly, coughing. He was pulled to his feet, his arm being positioned over the shoulders of another person.

"Don't push yourself," a gruff voice directed, practically lugging the injured plumber down the corridor.

"Thank you Donkey Kong," Mario wheezed, his legs dragging on the floor. His head rolled lazily to its side, the pain in his back and ribcage becoming apparent.

Donkey grunted in response, his head facing forward as the two made their way towards the exit of the hallway.

* * *

(A/N) And there you go.

I don't plan on going into detail on every single person right now and their grand escape. Too much details that I don't have available. But hey- Kirby finally turns up! And so do a few of the others!

I also got tired of recycling 'monster' and 'beast,' so I decided to give the the monsters a name- hence the Lions. Kinda look like one, just much more threatening and creepy looking I suppose.

I'm gonna try and spit out another chapter within a few days. Might not happen though. I need some time to think haha.

I hope you all liked this kinda lack-luster chapter. Please leave comments and reviews and whatnot, and thank you!


	7. Chapter 7

(A/N) Don't have much to say right now, except that school is officially over for me so hopefully that will allow updates more frequently.

Enjoy!~

* * *

"Falcon Punch!"

The door split in half with a loud crack, wood exploding across the hall in a burst of flames. Captain Falcon peeked his head through the doorway, cautiously looking left and right before stepping through and lifting his hand, forming a thumbs-up motion. Samus, clad in her power suit, and Link followed behind the racer. Link clutched the Master Sword firmly in his fist.

"I think they may all be gone," Samus spoke; her speech interfered with the slightest bit of static from the power suit having endured some damage.

Link walked in front of the two, his forehead creasing with concentration. The swordsman continued to remain silent, causing his companions to exchange curious looks with one another.

Link quickly spun around to face them. "We have no business left here."

"You think it's time to move on?" Samus questioned, earning a nod from the Hyrule warrior.

"I don't think those creatures will intend on returning here if they knew that no one was left," he thought aloud, returning his sword to its place by his side. "From what I dealt with earlier, they appeared to be more focused on capturing us than destroying the mansion and driving us out of our home."

Captain Falcon snapped his fingers. "So there's no threat to the mansion if we aren't here to protect it?"

"Exactly."

Samus stepped over the debris from the ceiling that had settled in the middle of the room. It was difficult for the men to tell what exactly she was doing due to her mask covering her face- they assumed that she was inspecting the damage.

After a few moments, she let out a sigh. "At this point it might be worth it. There's nothing left here but waiting for those monsters to potentially return."

Link strode up to the woman, resting his hand on her shoulder. "It's what's necessary."

Captain Falcon stepped forward. "If we don't have to worry about the mansion, is it worth getting our ships?"

Samus paused. "Probably not. We might draw too much attention to ourselves."

The F-Zero racer scowled, likely disappointed with the response from the bounty hunter, but chose not to argue. As Link and Samus began to walk away, Captain Falcon cast one more glance back towards where the garage was, clenching his fist and turning to follow his companions.

The three walked, a few minutes passing without any exchange of words between them. As they progressed through the mansion, the amounts of damage varied; some of the hallways looked untouched, the worst offense being the paintings on the wall looking askew, to others being near impossible to get through. Parts of the ceiling had collapsed onto the flooring below, doors were detached from their hinges, and gaping holes were now present in the wall.

They finally reached a single wooden door at the end of one dimly lit hallway. Samus reached out and grasped the doorknob, twisting it to open the door. She shook it back and forth a few times when it refused to open, and then lifted her leg, kicking outwards and causing the door to snap open. The companions stepped outside to see the dark sky above becoming towards the horizon, the sun barely peeking over the line of trees.

"It can't be any earlier than 5:30," Samus deduced, looking to the others for confirmation. Captain Falcon merely grunted while Link said nothing. The woman involuntarily rolled her eyes at the men's behavior, facing the greenery. "How are we going to find anyone else who made it out?"

Link's eyes lit up. "Their tracks," he mumbled.

Samus whirled around. "Their _what?_ "

"Their tracks," he repeated, louder this time. Link walked around the bounty hunter, his neck bent downwards as he stared at the dirt path. "If anyone came out this way recently, they would've left a trail." He glanced over his shoulder at her, grinning. "They would have left tracks."

"Well don't just stand there!" Captain Falcon cried out, exasperated. "Find someone's footprints!"

Link began to pace around the area slowly, analyzing the ground. The air was still, and time moved slowly, or at least felt it moved more slowly than usual. The Hyrule native continued his work, unperturbed by the two other people present who were progressively losing what little patience they had left- Captain Falcon leaned against a lone tree standing in the grass while Samus resorted to tapping her boot on the ground.

Link came to a stop, moving to crouch in order to get a better look at the ground with the minimum amount of light provided. Samus and Captain Falcon walked over to stand behind him.

"You find something?" Samus prodded, craning her neck to spare a look at what Link was inspecting.

He pointed at the ground, revealing a large print in the dirt. It resembled what appeared to be a hand belonging to a human- however, it was much larger than any human's hand normally would be, the fingers also seeming to be thicker.

"That is, without a doubt, Donkey Kong's print," Link stopped speaking for a moment, narrowing his eyes at the line in the dirt that was besides the footprint. He moved his index finger, gesturing to it. "I think he must have been carrying or helping someone walk. It looks like they were dragging their feet." Link finally stood up. "I can't tell who that is that was with him."

"We can't afford to waste any more time," Captain Falcon announced, heading towards the forest in the distance. "That person could be injured, or worse dying. We have to find them. And quick."

* * *

A low rumble wailed out, followed by some cursing. Kirby rubbed his stomach with sympathy, criticizing himself for not having found anything to eat yet. The puffball searched the area around him, crying out in frustration to find the trees bare of any fruit that they could possibly hold.

"What I'd give for an apple right about now…" Kirby whined, dragging his large feet underneath him. The puffball sniffed miserably, flopping to the forest floor with defeat, rolling onto his back. He shut his eyes, listening to his stomach growl a few more times. "This is ridiculous." Kirby's eyes fluttered open briefly then snapped open completely as a red light shone in the corner of his field of vision. He jumped up, breaking into a run towards the red object. Sucking in a large amount of air, he jumped up and began floating upwards towards the tree home to the object.

Kirby let out the air he was holding, landing on a branch before bouncing upwards, hopping from branch to branch. He reached the top of the tree with relative ease, plucking the apple from the branch it was hanging off of. His mouth stretched into a wide grin, and he sucked the apple in, the food being gone in a matter of seconds.

His stomach growled loudly again, dissatisfied. Kirby rolled his eyes. "Shut up already. I know you're hungry."

Kirby looks down to jump out of the tree when he suddenly froze, noticing movement on the ground below him. He sat down on the branch and sucked in a huge breath to remain as quiet as possible.

"Just hang on. I'll find us some food and you somewhere to rest." The voice was reassuring, Kirby noted, but also similar to an extent, as though he recognized it from somewhere. "Hang on, Mario."

 _Mario?_

Kirby launched himself out of the tree, not bothering to hold onto the air within him in order to soften his fall, and landed on the ground with a thump. Donkey Kong reflexively jumped backwards, clutching the half-conscious Mario to his side. Mario groaned, coughing and sputtering, attempting to fill his lungs with air.

"Kirby?!" D.K. exclaimed, shocked. He held his free hand to his chest. "You scared the daylights out of me! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" The gorilla bared his teeth at the puffball, who in turn ignored the monkey's rage.

"Is Mario okay?" The puffball gasped, his eyes wide with concern. The anger on the monkey's face vanished, and his stance relaxed. He readjusted his hold on the plumber.

"He'll be fine. He just needs time to recuperate."

Kirby gulped, nodding at him. "I am glad to see you. I've been wandering through this forest by myself for hours it seems like."

D.K. blinked in confusion. "You mean that no one else made it out?"

"At least not with me," Kirby shrugged. "I was with Meta Knight. But we got separated when a few of those monsters found us." The look on the puffball's face grew solemn. "I don't know what happened to him or if he got out okay. Meta just saw someone in trouble and flew off. He told me to just run and focus on survival."

"Mario could have used that advice," the large monkey commented, placing said plumber on the ground, positioning him to lean against the trunk of a tree. Kirby shifted from foot to foot, staring at the back of the monkey. Donkey Kong looked back at the puffball with an unreadable expression plastered on his face.

"We aren't safe. Don't think that for a second," he warned. Kirby shuddered at the comment.

"What are we exactly in danger of anyway?"

"Or who might be a more appropriate question." Donkey Kong slumped to the ground next to Mario, whose head had rolled over and rested upon his own shoulder. The plumber snoozed, but coughed every now and then, his face scrunching in discomfort. Kirby said nothing more, settling down in the forest clearing himself, and stared up at the sky, which was now turning a bright blue, signifying the new day to come.

* * *

(A/N) This chapter is an iffy for me. The past two or three really have been acting more as a "let's figure out where out main characters are at" kind of chapters, so it's mostly dialogue and little to no action.

My apologies. I'm gonna try and fit some in soon.

But yeah- now we know where everyone is at. A quick recap:

-Mario and D.K. are now with Kirby in the forest

-Ness, Luigi, and Yoshi are together, likely in the forest

-Captain Falcon, Samus, and Link are trying to track down D.K.

-Fox and Pikachu are with one another, and they left the mansion, but we don't know their current location

And that's that! As always, I hope you guys enjoyed. Please feel free to tell me what you think so far, and I am also always open to any ideas for maybe potential enemies you would like the heroes to face, or maybe even situational stuff you would like to see happen. Thanks again!


	8. Chapter 8

(A/N) Thank you for the reviews- some of which actually did help me formulate an idea for this chapter. And since school ended for me today, I decided to get another chapter out there. So here you guys go!

* * *

Pit stirred slightly, turning from his back to his side. His mind drifted aimlessly, crossing over the line of unconscious into conscious, before immediately going back. A few minutes passed before the angel realized that the hushed voices he was hearing were not in his head, but were in fact surrounding him. His eyelids fluttered open, his vision blurry for a moment. He squeezed them shut again, opening to see everything come clearly into view.

He was shocked to find that he was in a decently-sized room, filled with the other smashers. Pit looked left and right, gasping inwardly as he made eye contact with an exhausted looking Lucas, his blonde hair unruly and sticking up in several directions. Pit resisted the urge to hit himself as he remembered what occurred a few hours ago- or at least what he believed to be a few hours ago. The lack of natural light in the dark room made it difficult to gauge what time of the day it was.

"And so he awakens," a voice to his left sneered. Pit turned to see his dark counterpart, Dark Pit, leaning against the gray wall, his arms crossed over his chest. Despite the appearances of many of the others, Dark Pit appeared as though he was barely even touched. The most noticeable disturbance to his ensemble was the tear in his black robe.

"You looked practically unharmed," Pit deadpanned. Dark Pit gritted his teeth at the comment.

"Damn thing caught me off guard. Knocked me out."

The brighter of the two angels scoffed. "I don't know whether to say you got off easy or were just plain unlucky."

"Doesn't matter." Dark Pit closed his eyes and crossed one of his legs over the other one. "There's no way out of here. We're all trapped."

Pit jumped up to his feet, looking wildly around the room. The other angel was right- the room they were all currently in was essentially a box. Each wall and the ceiling included were a gloomy shade of gray, so dark to the point that it could almost be considered black. No windows or doors were present anywhere he looked. It was dimly lit, making it difficult to see anyone who wasn't only a few feet around them. From what he could see, Pit saw a few of the smashers were awake, either conversing to each other or attending to another's injuries to the best of their abilities. Everyone else seemed to still be in a state of sleep.

The angel noticed Snake walking around the enclosed room, running his hands across the wall, occasionally placing his ear up to the wall and knocking on it with a fist.

Curiosity got the best of the winged boy. "Snake, what are you doing?"

The soldier moved a little to his left, repeating the same process from before. "Checking these walls to see if there's maybe a hidden door or a hollow part in the wall to bust through."

Pit merely made an 'ah' in response to the soldier, leaving him to continue his work. The boy made his way over to Princess Peach. The blonde was standing up, slightly leaning over Falco Lombardi, attempting to wrap some torn cloth over one of his wings. The stationary pilot glanced at the angel for a second before his eyes flickered down once again. Princess Peach on the other hand showed more emotion than the bird.

"Hello Pit." She gave him a tired smile, and he then noticed the bags under her eyes. Pit nodded at her as she returned her focus to the task at hand. "Tell me if it's too tight, Falco."

"Peh- I can handle some tight cloth, Princess."

"Glad to hear that." Peach then tugged tightly on the cloth, making the pilot yelp loudly. Falco whirled his head, glaring at her angrily. Peach smiled sweetly at him as she continued to wrap the cloth around his wing. "I thought you said you could handle it?"

"Well I wasn't expecting _that._ "

Pit chuckled at the two's banter, gazing around the room again. He saw the Pokémon trainer, Red, sitting up by the fire on his Charizard's tail, his Squirtle and Ivysaur lying beside him asleep. was rummaging through his coat to see what supplies he had available; a few of the smashers including Olimar and Marth were sitting by him waiting for medical attention. Olimar was favoring his right leg, while Marth had a large gash across his cheek.

As Pit continued to inspect the room they were in, he noticed two things.

One- the conditions of the smashers seemed to get worse as he looked, making it difficult to stomach.

And two- not everyone was here.

"Princess Peach," Pit began, facing the blonde once again. She had finished her work on Falco's wing, and directed her attention to the angel speaking to her, wide blue eyes telling him to proceed. "Where's Mario?" Pit paused, surveying quickly one final time. "And Link? D.K.?"

The Princess' lower lip wobbled slightly. "I don't know." Her voice cracked, and she lifted a hand to wipe the few tears she shed.

"They must have gotten away," Falco spoke up. "Fox too. He isn't here either."

Pit nodded. "A few of them aren't here now that I think about it."

Princess Peach heaved a sigh of relief. "They must have escaped then. There is hope after all."

"Of course there is!" Falco exclaimed, throwing his arms out to his sides. "My boy Fox won't let us down. I'm sure he's out there, with the rest of them, making a plan to come and rescue us from here."

Another thought dawned upon the angel.

"Where exactly is here anyway?"

* * *

A large white glove floated over to a glass window. He shook violently for a moment, and then stopped, reducing the tremors down to an occasional twitch here and there. He did not have a set of eyes, but appeared to be staring into the room on the opposite side of the glass. He let out a cackle of laughter, its sound alone enough to send chills down ones back.

"The collection is missing a few trophies," his voice shook with each word he uttered, ending with a crazed giggle.

A low growl was heard in response to the statement. Crazy Hand continued shaking, flexing his fingers wildly. He tapped on the glass a few times, and then stopped, as though waiting for a response from the other side of the transparent wall.

"Stop that," a voice growled. "The monsters we sent out didn't get the job done. No worries however." The being spoke in a low, raspy voice. An intake of air was heard, followed by a release. It continued.

"You have my permission to send out more hunters to retrieve the rest of my collection." The voice shook the entire room, earning a squeak from Crazy Hand. The glove whirled around and began to type on the keys of a large computer quickly without any sign of slowing down. He was about to press the 'enter' key before looking through the glass again.

On the other side of the glass stood a large bookcase with several shelves. On each of the shelves sat figures resembling the different smashers-from Bowser to Palutena to a figure that was clearly Pit himself. The trophies of the fighters were tied down to the shelf they sat on as though they were in danger of falling to the ground below.

Crazy Hand floated without making a sound, admiring the bookcase. He froze as his gaze landed on a larger trophy positioned at the bottom of the bookcase, sitting alone. The trophy was that of a large white glove.

"Brother…." Crazy Hand whimpered. He remained silent, and then suddenly spun around, his fingers positioned into the form of a gun, pointing at the darkness in the back of the control room. His pointed finger glowed red briefly, prepared to fire a bullet, when a dark beam was shot from the dark corner of the room. It struck straight through Crazy Hand, and he fell to the ground with a loud thud, convulsing violently. He made incoherent noises, attempting to form a sentence but failing miserably.

"Fool," the deep voice snarled. "You are under my control. You will follow my orders, or you will perish, along with those miserable smashers and your brother."

Crazy Hand let out a weak sob for a moment. He remained on the floor, making no movement to try and get up.

"Now rise. I command you to summon the hunters and retrieve the few remaining smashers for me."

The glove floated up, albeit slowly. His once white appearance was now faded to a shade of gray, like dry cement. His drifted over to the control panel, hitting the enter key with his pointed finger and turned to face the corner of the room again.

The voice hummed in approval. "Excellent. Once we have all of these monstrosities, I will be able to drain them of their powers and claim this world as mine once more." He paused for a moment. "And you and your brother will be no more. But these are minor details." He laughed maniacally, the room shaking. The sound of fingers snapping resonated throughout the room, and Crazy Hand fell to the ground, groaning. "This world will soon know of and fear the reign of Master Core once again."

* * *

(A/N) So now we know who is behind all of this- Master Core from the SSB4 games. Hoo hah.

He has several forms so I am going to try and make use of them, but please have patience with me as I do this.

Anyway, he has the smashers in their trophy forms on the 'bookshelf,' but the room they are in is actually within the bookshelf itself. (Hard to explain so bear with me.) Their consciouses/spirits you could say are alive and well, but are trapped in the bookshelf. If their trophy was to be removed from it, then they would get taken out of the room. So as long as they stay in that bookshelf, they are trapped.

Hope you liked it- a bit of a different take from what the past few chapters have been.

And no- Crazy Hand is not evil. He is under Master Core's control because of his dark magic or whatever you want to call it.

Reviews as always are loved and appreciated! thanks guys(:


	9. Chapter 9

(A/N) Here we go- getting back to some characters we haven't seen or heard from for a few chapters. I really need to pick up the pace with the updates.

Enjoy!

* * *

Pikachu gasped for air, pushing her wet hair out of her eyes. She grasped the side of the river and pulled her body out of the current, wheezing tiredly as she flopped onto the grass. She shut her eyes and allowed her mind to wander and rest, forgetting the impending danger that had just chased her and caused her to end up soaked.

Her ears reactively twitched to the sound of another body lying down next to her. Her companion breathed heavily on her face, making her wrinkle her nose in discomfort.

"Are you okay?"

Pikachu nodded, keeping her eyes shut. "I'm fine. How are you holding up Fox?"

Fox rolled over from his stomach onto his back, shielding his face from the sun that was making its way up into the sky above the two. "I'm just fantastic."

The girl couldn't help but giggle quietly at the vulpine's snarky remark. She opened her eyes into tiny slits, assessing her companion.

"You look ridiculous."

Fox turned his head to look at Pikachu, noticing the girl's blonde hair matted to her face. She had a smirk on her face, and appeared to be holding back laughter. He chuckled in response. "You're not looking any better you know."

The StarFox leader knew he probably looked like a wet dog, his fur slicked down and smooth from being completely soaked. Pikachu was in no better condition than him- both of their outfits were dripping wet and sticking to their bodies.

Pikachu sighed in content. "Let's just stay here for a few minutes and enjoy having nothing trying to kill us." Fox couldn't help but smile, and shut his eyes.

"Fair enough."

* * *

 _A few hours earlier…_

Pikachu's head fell to the side, causing the girl to jolt abruptly, now completely awake. She squinted at the dim light in front of her from the crackling fire, and shifted with the intent to readjust her position into a more comfortable one. The girl leaned back on the log she was sitting in front of. She stared at the fire, watching the orange embers rise into the air, floating around as though they were dancing.

A few moments passed, and Pikachu decided to speak up.

"I can keep watch."

Fox grunted, reaching down to the side of him and picking up a few sticks, tossing them lazily into the fire. "It's fine. I got it."

"You need to rest," she informed, scowling at the vulpine's resistance. "You sleep for a bit. I'll keep watch."

Fox looked over at her, and she froze. His eyes were tired but firm, and he had no readable expression on his face. Both remained mute, and after a few minutes of nothing, Pikachu was about to give up and lay back down to return to sleep.

"Okay," Fox sighed, slumping down into a more relaxed position, crossing his arms over his chest. "Wake me up if something goes wrong."

Pikachu nodded at him. "Okay."

Fox quickly fell asleep she noticed, confirming her assumptions that the pilot was overworking himself for the sake of keeping her safe. Pikachu found herself feeling both flattered and insulted by the gesture.

She snagged a lone stick off of the forest floor, and began to poke the fire with it.

"I can take care of myself…" she grumbled, stealing a glance at her sleeping companion. She frowned, taking in his appearance once again.

His flight jacket was dirty and torn, and his fur was no better- unruly and messy looking, sticking up in several different directions in a few places. Pikachu had to resist from smoothing out his fur herself. He had large bags under his eyes, likely due to sleep deprivation.

* * *

An hour passed of absolute silence.

Pikachu found the prospect of sleep threatening to overtake her as her eyelids began to get heavy and droop down, interfering with her vision. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut, and opened them widely with hopes of waking herself up. She suppressed a yawn and instead opened her mouth, no noise coming out. Pikachu reached her arms above her head, pulling and stretching her limbs before repositioning herself with her chin propped up on one of her hands balled up in a fist.

Fox shifted slightly, gaining her attention, and she watched the vulpine move around in his spot briefly before becoming still once again. His body moved up and down with each intake and release of air, showing a constant rhythm of breathing. Pikachu returned her attention to the crackling fire in between the two, the once strong light source now dying down to a dim luster.

She huffed out, mildly annoyed with herself for offering to stay awake when there was nothing more she wanted than to fall asleep like herself, even if it was just for the sake of passing time and having the sun be there the next time he opened her eyes.

The cracking of a twig caused Pikachu's head to snap up, and she whipped her head around to the direction where the source of the noise came from. She narrowed her eyes, attempting to focus and make out the cause of the noise in the dark.

Another footstep had her clenching her fists, holding her breath to hear the intruder better. Pikachu lifted herself up off the ground, hands raised in front of her in a defensive manner. She waited as she spotted the individual standing back in the bushes.

They made no further movement, and Pikachu gulped nervously. "Hello?"

The individual suddenly sprang forward, their fist thrown out in front of them. Pikachu flinched, moving her head to the side quickly. The person skidded past her, narrowly missing by a few inches, and Pikachu stared at them as they turned around to face her again. Pikachu gasped as the dim fire lit up their face.

"No way!" She cried, shocked. Her head went back and forth between the intruder and Fox, who was still on the ground unconscious. She focused back on the intruder again, jaw dropped in amazement.

The person standing in front of her sneered, and rushed towards her, twisting their body upwards in a kick. Pikachu gritted her teeth as their boot made impact with her gut, and she fell back onto the forest floor. They walked forward and lifted their boot, preparing to bring it down it down. Pikachu reacted quickly, throwing her arm in front of her, releasing an electric shock. The force of the shock sent the intruder flying backwards, landing on the ground with a loud thump.

"Fox!" Pikachu yelled, diving next to the vulpine. She grabbed his shoulder and started shaking him back and forth violently. "Wake up!"

The vulpine's eyes snapped opened, and he looked to the girl who had a death grip on his arm. "What…?" He rasped, and Pikachu pointed to the intruder, who had gotten back onto their feet. Fox felt his blood become cold.

He found himself staring at what appeared to be an exact replica of him, as though he were looking into a mirror. His copy had a few stand out differences- instead of golden/orange colored fur, the copy's fur was dark, almost gray. Their eyes were cold and lifeless, and they had a dark black aura floating around the edges of their body.

Fox growled to himself, hopping onto his own feet as they copy rushed forward. He kicked his leg out, catching the copy's own and making him fall to the ground. Fox whipped out his blaster, firing at the copy. The shots struck the copy, making it snarl at Fox. It rushed forward again, throwing its own leg out, connecting with Fox's jaw, dropping his blaster in the process. The two foxes tumbled on the forest floor, wrestling and throwing punches at one another.

Pikachu gaped at the scene in front of her. She watched the copy throw Fox over his head, and the pilot yelped in pain as he made impact with the ground. A glint of silver caught her eye, and she noticed the blaster on the ground next to the almost dead fire. Pikachu rushed over, snatching the gun off of the ground and whirled around to face the copy. She bit down on her lip and pulled the trigger.

The shots from the blaster connected with copy, making it howl in pain, and it burst into dart particles, fading away. Pikachu clutched her chest to slow her breathing, pushing her bangs out of her face. She winced when she saw Fox lying on the ground, and got down on her knees next to him.

"Are you okay?"

Fox let out a large breath and sat up, nodding at the girl. "I'm fine. We should get moving."

"Now?" Pikachu questioned. Her brow was creased with concern. "But you're hurt. Shouldn't we wait for more sunlight?"

He shook his head at her and pushed himself off the ground. He winced at the stinging sensation in his arm, and shook his arm, attempting to numb the pain. "It'll be up soon, don't worry."

Pikachu glowered at the vulpine, but kept mouth shut as she handed over his blaster. He mumbled a 'thanks' as he put it back in his holster. Fox kicked a pile of dirt at the dim fire, putting the rest of it out. He stepped over the pit and made his way over to the opening in the trees.

"Let's get going."

* * *

"Fox."

Fox McCloud kept his head straight as he continued walking through the forest. The morning sun was beginning to make its way up into the sky above, beams of light peeking through the branches and leaves, illuminating the forest floor. The sight was truly breathtaking to some, but neither individual was taking the time to stop and witness the beauty of nature make itself present in front of them.

"Fox…"

The voice calling to him fell deaf upon his ears. McCloud's pace did not stagger for a moment as he weaved through the bushes, coming to another dirt path like the one he was just on. He began to walk again.

"Fox!" The voice cried for a third time. Pikachu grabbed his hand, yanking the vulpine back to a stop. He whirled around to face her, noticing the blonde's chest heaving as she panted.

"Slow down…." She breathed out, face scrunched in fatigue. He shook his head at her.

"We don't have time to slow down, Pikachu," he fought. Fox took the opportunity of the girl being in a daze and shook his own hand from her grip, moving to wrap his now-free hand around her own. He began pulling her in the direction he was heading. "We're totally exposed and we can't be sitting ducks."

Pikachu huffed. "If we keep moving like this, we aren't going to have any energy to fight if we have to. Fox, you're exhausted!" She shook her head at him despite him not seeing it due to his head turned, focusing on getting through the forest ahead.

"Doesn't matter. I'm trying to keep you safe."

"I can protect myself you know," she rolled her eyes.

Fox stopped briefly, peering over his shoulder at her. His eyes held a different emotion; one Pikachu registered was almost apologetic. "I know. Sorry. Force of habit I guess."

"Saving people?" She asked, even though she knew the answer already.

"Yeah."

Pikachu immediately dropped the subject, allowing herself to be pulled through the forest by the vulpine. She knew it was a defense tactic. She didn't question it any further.

The pair continued on, settling for being mute instead of trying to lighten the dark mood. Every so often a noise from an animal or the snapping of a branch would halt the pair's progress. Fox narrowed his eyes at the not-as-well lit sections of the forest, hand resting on the holster of his blaster, prepped to fire if need be. Pikachu chose to remain behind the vulpine and let him lead.

The area grew quiet again, and they started walking. Pikachu tapped lightly on Fox's shoulder, and pointed to an opening between some trees. The two headed towards the brighter space in the forest. They stepped over the low lying bushes on the ground, and looked around them to see an open plain with a cliff across from new dirt path in front of them. Pikachu dislodged her wrist from Fox's grip, moving around the vulpine towards the drop off at the edge of the road. He crossed his arms over his chest, watching the girl move around the clearing.

Pikachu offered him a smile. "You have to admit, this feels a lot better after what we went through yesterday." Fox shrugged at her, saying nothing.

The loud crunching of branches got his attention. Fox turned on his heel, blaster ready. His jaw dropped at the sight of another large beast like the one they faced the other night. The dark lion bared its teeth at the vulpine.

Fox chose to waste no time and fired off a few shots at the monster. It jumped out of the way and over Fox's head. He turned to look back at Pikachu, eyes wide.

"Look out!"

Pikachu yelped as she dived out of the way of the lion, it landing where she originally stood. Pikachu rose to her feet and threw her arm in front of her with a grunt, electricity wrapping its way down her arm and launching towards the beast. The shock struck the beast in the chest, but it remained unfazed, crouching down to prepare to pounce again.

Pikachu's jaw dropped. "What?" She gasped, looking over to Fox with panic.

The vulpine gritted his teeth as he ran forward, firing at the beast. The shots bounced off of its body, harmless. He skidded to a stop. Fox glanced over at Pikachu, who appeared as helpless as he felt. He looked past her, and paused for a moment when he saw the cliff.

The monster jumped up into the air and slashed its claw at Fox. The vulpine rolled out of the way and dashed towards Pikachu with a Fox Illusion. He grabbed the girl's hand and continued to run towards the cliff, his ears twitching as he picked up the sound of what seemed to be rushing water, and most likely a waterfall. The girl cried out at first, and then gasped loudly when she realized what he was doing.

"Fox! You aren't going to…."

Fox nodded his head, wrapping a free arm around Pikachu's waist. "Get ready."

Pushing off of the edge of the cliff, Fox launched himself and the girl forward, twisting his body around as the two began the descent parallel to the waterfall cascading to the river below. Pikachu's eyes bugged out at the sight of the churning waters, and she squeezed her eyes shut, preparing for impact.

* * *

(A/N) Blah. It's okay I guess. At least we now know what's been going on with these two. Running into trouble. Hopefully the others will find them soon(;

Hope you guys enjoyed the long over due update! I hope it sufficed.


	10. Chapter 10

(A/N) First off, sorry.

I've been so freakishly busy lately and have been struggling with coming up with an idea for this story for a while now. Hence why a month later, you guys are finally getting something. I just kind of sat down and started typing to see where it ended up, and I'm decently surprised that what I got was an okay chapter in my opinion.

Happy reading as always!

* * *

It was when he opened his eyes that his senses began to return him, one slowly after the other. A sharp pain shot through his head, as though a knife was being driven through his skull, when the bright sunlight greeted him by practically blinding his sight. The initially stinging sensation had calmed down slightly as the minutes passed, becoming nothing more than a dull ache.

Mario grunted as he pushed himself in an upright position. He gasped, his body shaking at the new pain he registered, one situated in his lower abdomen area. The air was knocked out of him and he fell back onto the tree behind him, wheezing and struggling for breath. Sweat trickled down his forehead. His left hand rested on his side that was suffering, holding it in a death grip, as though attempting to squeeze the discomfort right out of his system.

The plumber reopened his eyes, not even realizing he was squeezing them shut in the first place. He glanced around him, his focus landing on the slumbering ape across from his. The memory of what occurred a few hours ago flashed across his mind; the chaos in the mansion, the dark creature running amok, Pit falling victim to them, and the ape himself saving the plumber's life when death was extending his hand out to Mario.

The pink blob next to Donkey Kong shifted suddenly. Mario squinted at it as it flipped over onto its back. He sighed in relief to see Kirby unharmed, his body showing no signs of damage, not even a single scratch visible. The pink warrior blinked before staring at Mario. He remained silent for a moment, a small grin breaking out onto his face.

"You're finally awake!" Mario suspected the boy wanted to cry out in joy, but due to their final companion still being asleep, reduced himself down to an excited whisper.

A grin erupted onto the plumbers face. Kirby's happiness was contagious, and despite the dangers they could be surrounded by at any given second, Mario could help but smile back and nod enthusiastically.

Mario's face immediately paled, and he turned over to his side, retching uncontrollably. Kirby cried out in concern, but it fell deaf upon Mario's ears. He spit in disgust, his stomach cleansed and now barren. His head spun and he felt dizzy, the light of the day becoming an annoyance once more. A gloved hand was lifted and held up weakly to block the light from his clouded eyes.

The puffball walked over to the plumber, and began to move his round hand in a circular motion on his back. The soothing sensation sent pleasurable shivers through Mario's body, aiding his recovery from vomiting.

"You gonna be all right?" Mario nodded, rubbing his mouth with the back of his hand.

"I'll survive," he snorted. The plumber ran a hand through his unruly hair. A thought crossed his mind suddenly, and he turned to Kirby, blue eyes widened with curiosity. "How'd you find us?"

Kirby shrugged, peering around the forest briefly. "I escaped sometime last night. I ended up hiding out in the forest and you guys just so happened to pass by." He paused before continuing. "You looked awful."

"I feel awful," Mario admitted, looking down in shame.

"You shouldn't… feel bad about confessing to being in pain you know."

Mario glared at Kirby for a moment. The latter noticed his statement hitting a sore spot in the hero, and he backed up, holding his arms up in surrender.

"No offense I mean! The entire place was a mess. You made it out in one piece and that's all that matters."

The plumber's eyes softened and he mumbled an apology. "I know. I just failed," he stated. "I should have been able to save Pit, and instead he got taken away."

The smile that landed on Kirby's face caught Mario off guard. "We're all guilty of something. You tried at least-that's what matters." A solemn expression took place of the smile. "I just ran… I knew I was way out of my league alone."

Silence grew between the heroes, Mario looking over the pink blob at Donkey Kong. The ape was still in a state of slumber, bliss apparent from the look on his face. Kirby kicked aimlessly at the dirt floor. He finally broke the silence.

"You… shouldn't have to fight alone. None of us should."

Mario chuckled, grunting as he pushed himself off the ground. His red hat fell off his head in the process of him leaning forward, drifting and landing gently onto the forest floor. He narrowed his eyes at the condition of his favorite accessory. It was slightly torn and appeared to be almost singed in varying spots, dirt smudged on the 'M' logo.

With a heavy sigh, he snatched it off the ground, slapping the hat against his free hand, tiny dirt clouds erupting and floating around it. He placed in on his head, adjusting it until it sat right.

"We can't. We may have to fight, but we have to fight together."

The sword slashed cleanly through the branches and bushes. The forest debris fell to the ground, and the legs of the swordsman stepped over it, crunching underneath his boots. Link's eyes remained glued to the ground, searching for the next sign of direction leading towards the other Smashers who managed to escape. A large handprint molded into the dirt caught his eye. The fingers were positioned towards the rising sun, and Link began walking with the tracks as his guide.

Captain Falcon and Samus lingered behind the swordsman, judging from how silent he had become since disaster struck, signifying that it was a better option to give him space and allow him to do his work. Sparks occasionally flew off from Samus' power suit, and every now and then her vision would get interrupted by a malfunction. The Captain realized the woman's difficulties she currently endured, and settled for remaining by her side in case she needed assistance.

Samus stalled briefly, stopping in her tracks. Captain Falcon shot her a concerned look.

"Do you need to take a break? Your suit is pretty damaged…" he questioned, his voice trailing off towards the end at from the silence he was receiving. He didn't need to see her face to know the massive scowl that was more likely than not plastered onto her face.

"No," Samus snapped. "We keep moving."

The woman walked past, her power suit eliciting a creaky noise as she moved. She made her way to stand next to Link. The swordsman was stoic, but appeared to be in a state of observation, eyes distant and clouded over, mouth forming a straight yet firm line.

"What is it?" She whispered. Link held a hand up, silencing Samus and causing Captain Falcon to freeze.

"Voices," he mumbled. "Someone is close."

The woman nodded, holding her breath and straining her hearing to try and pick up on what Link spoke of. She swore to herself when she found it impossible to focus on other noises when the crackling of static was all that floated to her ears.

Link jumped through the shrubs, his companions following him closely behind. Samus rolled her eyes at the lack of communication. She deduced that what he heard was likely another enemy, that they would have to apprehend, and in their conditions, if it was anything like how it was earlier, they would have their work cut out for them.

The Hyrule warrior moved like lightning, quick on his feet and ducking under stray branches, the master sword brandished by his side. Occasionally, he would swing his arm that held his sword to clear the path in front of him.

Normally Link wouldn't find himself rushing as urgently as he was at the moment through something that held such beauty such as the forest. The way the light weaved through the greenery and shined in bursts was generally breathtaking, but the three Smashers would not know this as they ran quickly. Samus and Captain Falcon would yell out every now and then, complaints of Link moving too fast or being too vague, unaware of where he was leading them, whether it was sanctuary or a battle.

Link slowed to a stop, his jaw dropping. Samus and Captain Falcon ran to his sides, Samus with her arm cannon pointed forward and the Captain holding his fists up. Both of their eyes widened, expressions morphing to match Link's.

The sight in front of them caused the feeling of panic to pass, and Link grinned wider than he had all day.

"Nice to see you, Mario."

Mario tipped his hat to the swordsman, grinning himself.

"You too, Link."

* * *

(A/N) And so they begin to come together! Mario, Kirby, and D.K. are found by Link, Samus, and Captain Falcon.

How exciting. We are going to be checking in with the others next time(:

Hope you guys enjoyed this shorter chapter, and that it kind of sufficed for my absence. Writer's block is the worst man.


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